A Capital Home

Recently, I toured some of the models for EYA Homes in Washington, D.C., a company that has been re-imagining capital living as "life within walking distance." EYA constructs new housing around loosely linked street and park settings that provide a lovely community feel in a larger metropolis. Several of my friends rent or own EYA homes, and I'm a fan of the houses because they pull off what so many builders don't: updated buildings that still carry the charm and spirit of their surroundings. Their developments on Capitol Hill blend seamlessly with the historic rowhouses there, right down to the patterned brick and bright colors. Here is one of my favorite home models - yet, while the molding and floor plan is traditional, the decor, by interior merchandising firm P Four, isn't. It's very fun!

The walls in the cozy living room and dining area are softened with cloth hangings, and the large lamps and "base" are actually one bold piece.

Very fitting for DC, where the traditional Roman motif of wheat shares

is everywhere - here, it's subtly repeated as candelabras flanking the mantel.

The dining room adjoining the living room - mirror

surfaces carry the light from adjacent windows through the center,

keeping it from the "tunnel" feel townhouses can have.

The master suite carries the theme of cream, silver, and pink upstairs.

The mix of furniture in this room is really appealing, but my favorite

by far are the studded suede chairs with "handles."

Detail of the master bedroom. Aren't the side tables fabulous?

Very Dorothy Draper. The lamps looked wonderful in the room,

but all I could think was"shower curtain rings." A project to try at home? :)

The dresser, a classic chocolate brown holding its

own with black, gray, and white.

Chanel in the bathroom. Sold.

A guest bedroom with graphic patterns breaks up the girly feel of pink.

L-o-v-e this shelf with white stripe trim!

The kitchen was, with classic unrealism, spotless and mostly pink.

But I fell in love with the gray and white ticking stripe roman shade.

The breakfast area goes gothic.

All images, my own. Design by EYA Homes.

Victor, Victoria Magazine!

Victoria was the beginning of my love affair with magazines. I stumbled upon it at a grocery check-out at the astute age of 12, mistakenly assuming it was about the Victorian world of my period doll, Samantha. It was a fortuitous mistake. The Victoria of the early 90s was a glossy, richly filled publication; every page was layered in gorgeous photography. Fashion inserts featured couture styling, luscious velvets, and a great deal of jewelry. I learned good aesthetic principles from those pages, thick with creative decorating, history, gardening, and excellent writing. I eventually began to read other magazines - Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, Vogue, and Town and Country, but I never threw away a Victoria. When I returned to the U.S. in 2003 to find that the magazine was no longer on the shelves, it was a real blow. Hoffman publications brought back Victoria in 2007, and I wondered if they could really capture the unrivaled combination of good taste and graceful living that made the original magazine so unique. They could. The latest July/Aug issue not only features Draper's freshened up Greenbrier, but the restored rooms of Edith Wharton's The Mount. Don't miss this issue!!!

THE GREENBRIER

The graceful Greenbrier. Originally founded in 1778, the 721 room hotel within a few hour's drive of D.C. has hosted most U.S. Presidents and numerous other dignitaries. When Draper first encountered the Greenbrier, it was in dilapidated condition, having served as an army hospital during WWII. She roamed the halls with a flashlight, planning the rooms for which she would become famous. She claimed to have encountered the ghost of another guest, Robert E. Lee, in a corridor. 

The entry staircase Draper made famous. Her philosophy about pattern was "more is more."

A room vinegette, with more layered pattern and the fearless use of color that characterizes much of Draper's work.

Ancient influence is felt throughout the Greenbrier. Draper interspersed busts and statuary with bold modern design. 

EDITH WHARTON'S THE MOUNT
Edith Wharton's beautiful home. The author of what many consider the first book on interior design, "The Decoration of Houses," designed the 1902 estate herself. Edith's inspiration was the English country home, Belton House.

While architects Ogden Codman (with whom she co-authored "Houses") and Francis Hoppin finalized the plans for the house, the garden design was all Edith's own.

Edith Wharton stuck to her decorating principles; the guidelines she gave in "The Decoration of Houses" were followed religiously at The Mount, to marvelous affect. Wharton's goal was to revive house decoration as a branch of architecture, holding that a room with lovely furnishings and poor design could never achieve true beauty. She preferred exquisitely detailed design with simple furnishings and colors. In this space at The Mount, the architecture of the room is indeed on display, while quiet details and soft colors bring harmony to the space.

Images, Victoria Magazine. Exterior view of The Mount, edithwharton.org. These pictures are not featured in the magazine story; check out the newsstand for the full scoop.